City Crime
Nigeria Makes Only N496bn From Solid Mineral In 13 Years
Nigeria realised a meagre N496billion from solid minerals in 13 years despite the country’s huge deposits, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said in its latest audit report.
The amount is what accrued to the federation as revenue between 2007 when NEITI commenced reconciliation of payments in the solid minerals sector and 2019.
Nigeria is blessed with huge deposits of solid minerals, amongst them gold, tantalite, barite, limestone, bitumen, kaolin, and topaz.
With the volume of the deposits, experts say the solid mineral sector, if well harnessed, can generate more revenue for the country and compete with the economy’s mainstay, oil and gas.
Oil and gas generated N13.9trillion ($34billion) in 2019 alone.
Wrong policies and legal encumbrances have hindered the sector from unlocking its full potentials.
The sector has also been beset by illegal and corrupt activities, with operators often failing to remit revenues to the government, mining illegally, evading tax and smuggling mined products out of the country.
The NEITI report said the sector generated just N79.96billion in 2019, and contributed 0.26 per cent to gross domestic product that year.
Of the amount generated, states shared N5.1billion, higher than N2.1billion shared in 2018.
The report said N1.16billion was distributed to solid minerals producing states as 13per cent derivation.
“Nigeria’s GDP in 2019 was ?144.210trillion with contributions from the solid minerals sector totalling ?368.99billion, representing 0.26 per cent of the total amount,” the report said.
“This shows a steady growth in the sector’s contribution to the economy in the past five years, from a contribution of 0.12 percent in 2015 to 0.26 percent in 2019.”
The report said of 702 companies that paid royalties to the government in 2019, only 74 companies paid ?3million and above.
“These 74 companies accounted for 87.63 percent of total royalties of N2.50billion paid in 2019, with the top 5 companies (Dangote Cement PLC; Lafarge PLC; Dangote Industries; Julius Berger; and Reynolds Construction) paying more than 50 percent of total royalties,” the report stated.
It also disclosed that a total of 1,296 mineral permits were issued by the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) in 2019.
The breakdown showed that Small Scale Mining Leases were the highest with 602 permits granted.
This was followed by 501 and 169 for Exploration Licenses and Quarry Leases, respectively, while the least figure of 24 was recorded for Mining Leases.
The 2019 audit report revealed that the total volume of minerals produced was 59.82 metric tonnes.
On exports, the report said the solid minerals sector accounted for N124.23billion of the total government exports of N24.275trillion for 2019, representing just 0.51 per cent of total export for the year.
To address the issue of non-payments of taxes and multiple tax identification numbers (TIN), the NEITI report recommended that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) should carry out comprehensive tax audits to recover all unpaid taxes by companies and also work in collaboration with the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) to reconcile the multiple tax identification numbers by some companies.
SERAP warned that it would institute legal action if the bill is passed in its current or substantially similar form.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), seeks to compel social media platforms, data controllers and data processors operating in Nigeria to establish physical offices in the country.
It also empowers the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to shut down or prohibit the operations of any entity that fails to comply within 30 days.
In a letter dated July 18, 2026, and addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, SERAP said the proposed amendment posed a threat to constitutionally guaranteed rights.
The letter, signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare and issued on Sunday, read in part, “Requirements compelling technology companies to establish local offices would increase government leverage over platforms, facilitate political pressure, make censorship demands easier and expose local employees to retaliation.
“The Bill would create sweeping powers capable of shutting down or excluding social media platforms from the Nigerian market and expose millions of Nigerians to serious violations of their constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights.”
SERAP argued that the bill revives previous attempts to regulate social media that attracted widespread public opposition.
“The current Bill revives substantially similar proposals previously introduced by Senator Nwoko, raising renewed concerns that localisation requirements are being used as a vehicle for expanding governmental control over digital platforms and online expression,” it said.
The organisation warned that it would challenge the legislation in court if enacted.
“Should the Bill be enacted into law in its current or substantially similar form, SERAP shall promptly take all appropriate legal actions to challenge its legality in the public interest and to ensure that Nigerians’ fundamental rights are fully protected,” the letter stated.
According to SERAP, the proposed legislation would give the Nigeria Data Protection Commission excessive powers to block digital platforms without adequate procedural safeguards.
“The Bill constitutes a backdoor attempt to regulate social media and increase governmental control over online expression through corporate localisation requirements rather than through transparent and constitutionally permissible regulation,” it said.
The group argued that the bill lacks provisions for prior judicial authorisation, meaningful opportunities for compliance beyond the proposed 30-day period, and safeguards to protect the rights of millions of Nigerians who rely on digital platforms.
SERAP also cited the judgment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice on Nigeria’s suspension of Twitter, arguing that the proposed amendment could produce similar consequences by indirectly excluding social media platforms from operating in the country.
“The Bill also risks recreating the very dangers previously condemned by the ECOWAS Court of Justice. In SERAP and Others v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Court held that the suspension of Twitter violated the rights to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom protected under the African Charter.
“Although the present Bill differs from the Twitter suspension in form, it creates the possibility of achieving the same result indirectly by empowering regulators to prohibit digital platforms from operating in Nigeria.
“The National Assembly should not enact legislation capable of producing, through indirect regulatory means, the very restrictions on fundamental rights that regional human rights law prohibits,” the organisation said.
It maintained that while governments have a legitimate interest in regulating digital platforms, such measures must comply with constitutional guarantees and international human rights standards.
The organisation further warned that mandatory localisation requirements would increase compliance costs for technology companies, startups, educational institutions and artificial intelligence developers.
“The proposed amendment conflicts directly with the objectives of the Nigeria Startup Act 2022 and the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy.
“Mandatory localisation requirements substantially increase compliance costs, particularly for startups, open-source projects, educational institutions, research organisations, AI developers and smaller technology companies, while reducing Nigeria’s attractiveness as a destination for innovation and investment.
“No major democratic jurisdiction requires every social media platform to establish a physical office as a blanket precondition for providing services.”
SERAP added, “The National Assembly should immediately reject and withdraw the Bill, as it is manifestly incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution and Nigeria’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
England and Chelsea legend John Terry has expressed disappointment over Nigeria’s absence from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, admitting that the Super Eagles will be sorely missed as the tournament started yesterday Tidesports source reports.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured one of the automatic qualification spots for the tournament.
The Super Eagles kept their hopes alive by defeating Gabon in the playoff semi-finals but saw their dreams shattered after losing to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final.
The defeat condemned Nigeria to a second successive absence from the World Cup, having also failed to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar. The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign. However, the appeal was dismissed, ending any hopes of a late reprieve.
Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation. So, yeah, they fall under that category for me.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain.
“I know Mikel Obi is very upset that they’re not there. It means he can’t do more commentating on the World Cup. That’s why he was upset.”
The 2026 World Cup officially begins with co-hosts Mexico.
The historic clash, set to take place at the iconic Estadio Azteca, rekindles memories of the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which ended 1-1. South Africa took the lead through Siphiwe Tshabalala’s stunning strike before Rafael Márquez salvaged a draw for Mexico with a 79th-minute equaliser.